Another "exception" (I'm surprised no one has mentioned him): Marcus Camby 6'11, 220 lb That is Marcus Camby at 35-years old in his 14th NBA season, proving he didn't need to beef up and add muscle to be one of the best defenders of his generation. DPOY, led the league in BLK/G four times and BLK% three times and has the 8th best career BLK% in NBA history. And, just so you don't think he was a 1-trick pony who only blocked shots, he also led the league in TRB% 4 times, has the 8th highest career TRB% in NBA history, led the league in DBPM five times and has the 3rd highest career DBPM in the history of the league. So, in addition to blocking shots, he was a damn good rebounder and overall defender, and also a pretty decent passer for a big man. Of all the people who have played the game, Marcus Camby proves, beyond all doubt that you don't need to weigh 265 lb, or even 230 lb. to be one of the best defenders and best rebounders the game has seen. Rookie Collins was an inch taller and 12 lb heavier than Camby's playing weight. Lack of size won't hold him back (his hands of stone might - he really seems to have trouble catching the ball, I mentioned it back during simmer league). BNM
What a defeated pathetic attitude. Why try to improve the team when we are unlikely to win a title? Maybe you would rather root for the Kings. Or do you only care about a team that can win a title? Maybe you should hop on the warriors bandwagon. I enjoy watching hustle players that help the team. Ed embodied that. Now I have to watch lesser players take his place along with an expectatation the team will be worse. Maybe we make a big improvement or an unexpected event happens, (ie trade for Jimmy Butler, Nurk becomes an All-star, Durant is injured for the season) now the decision to let Ed walk could hurt real chances of a western conference finals. There was no upside to the move outside of saving luxury tax money. I suppose you can enjoy watching Meyers and Caleb, congrats.
You guys sure have a lot of pictures of players who are downright fat compared to Collins. Do you think you're proving anything? Nice pictures, though. Thanks for trying.
John Collins is better on defense than Zach is on offense, and they’re the same age. Collins had a PER that would’ve ranked him third on Portland. As a rookie. Objectively speaking, the two players don’t belong in the same sentence right now. Let’s not be complete homers.
I’m not, I think defensively he’s valuable, but if you’re right, we are so fucked. I mean, we’re already pretty fucked as is, but you know what I mean. The worst part is knowing Neil’s history, we’ll get no outside help until next summer after he realizes that Meyers, Biggie, etc weren’t good enough. Similar situation to Connaughton last year. Those guys will play just out of necessity, even if/when they don’t deserve to.
We'll, I guess the plan is to just throw Zach out there and hope playing a lot gives him the confidence to swim instead of sink. While I agree that John had a much better year and it's not close but I think we also need to account for situation. Knowing you are getting minutes on one of the worst teams in the league with no pressure and nothing on the line is a little different than trying to contribute to a team fighting for home court advantage in the West where every game the last half of the season had major playoff implications. Zach hopefully will figure out how to play as a key component of the team rather than just trying not to screw up which he seems to be doing now. When John is in the game he knows there isn't much talent around him and can play however he wants.
Thing is, there’s also an easy counter to your argument; Zach was surrounded by better players than John. His job should’ve been easier and teams never game planned for him. But we can go in circles. My main point is Zach doesn’t belong in the same sentence as John right now. Any other argument is subjective/wishful thinking. I hope for our sake Zach makes a jump though. I still believe in him.
Our success this season, I think, will depend first on Dame and CJ being themselves, on Nurk playing to his potential and Curry or Stauky probably exceeding expectations. Otherwise, yes, we are fucked. As far as Zach goes: as long as he continues to D up and take the open shot AND play well enough to keep Swanigan off the court, we should be fine. I think people WAY overvalue his everything, but he's what we've got and so so it goes. I almost think we should start him, honestly, like we did with Noah, to help relieve some of the pressure he's obviously feeling.
Yesss. Collins in the starting lineup is a great idea and his game compliments Nurkic well. On the second unit were probably going to need him to score, at least more than if he were in the starting lineup. Not such a great idea considering where he is in his offensive development. With Harkless’ injury/limited minutes, this would be a great time to do it as well. Move Aminu to SF.
Yes, I realize now how bloated Camby looks in that photo I posted. He was obviously retaining water that day. Probably had Taco Bell for lunch. BNM
Dame CJ Aminu Collins Nurkic Curry Stauskas Turner Harkless Leonard This could also allow Harkless’ game to expand. We could use him in the post since Leonard likes to float on the perimeter.
Isn't the whole point of giving Ed's minutes to Zach to accelerate his improvement? Yes, Ed is obviously better than Swanigan or Leonard, but for the team to improve, we need Zach Collins to be better than Ed Davis, and the only way he will get there is through gaining the experience that comes with increased playing time. Sure, it's a risk, but sitting back and doing more of the same thing wasn't going to result in any significant improvement for this team. BNM
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/carmelo/zach-collins/ This is the reality of statistical comparisons to Zach. His closest comparison is Spencer Hawes and his projection (compared to last year's data) went from promising rookie to defensive specialist.
Is it worth watching him implode like last night? He's cracking and it's only pre-season! Look what the pressure did to Meyers! He talks like a WWF wrestler! Being in the starting allows Zach to focus on being in the right spots and takes all the offense pressure off a guy that's clearly not offensively creative. Again, I just don't think it's worth it. The kid looks like he's got the ceiling of a solid role player. Maybe he'll be a great defender, maybe not. Whatever happens, it'll be a while. I know we are going to force it, I just don't understand it. I know olshey compared this situation with the CJ/Wesley but that's obviously a terrible comp considering how incredible CJ was in college. I just think the risk outweighs the reward.
In a vacuum it should probably be easier, especially since Zach played well in the NCAA Tourney so the pressure shouldn't be getting to him. I know this isn't necessarily the case with Zach at Gonzaga but that was just one year and most of these guys go from being the alpha on whatever team they've played on their whole life to having to fit in as a guy who only plays sometimes or in garbage minutes. John's minutes were much more consistent, especially after some injuries to Atlanta's front line. Every game he's played in as a pro has been basically meaningless. I think there is a difference between telling a guy to just go do whatever the fuck they want (pretty much) and every time you touch the ball you are trying not to fuck up. Once again, I'm not trying to argue that Zach is better than John. I'd just love to see the effects of a situation reversal.
